All good things most come to my end…an end.

All in all, I think this year’s Fringe Festival was the best one in years. The level of talent was off the charts. The amount of amazing shows to see was unbelievable. And the number of shirtless guys on stage was inspiring. Which brings me to the first of my last Fringe reviews:

“The Bronze Bitch Flies at Noon” and “Dog Tag”, presented by Magicword Theater. “FINALLY!!!” That was the first word came to my head after seeing this show. Finally a play (two, technically) that includes gay characters, yet the show isn’t necessarily about “being gay.” And it’s done well! The actors knew exactly what they were doing. It wasn’t cheesy. I cared about the characters. Nobody was a whore, or a drug addict, or had AIDS, or a lisp, or any other quality/circumstance that most people seem to think comes with the gay territory. They were just people (and one dog), in the same situations that any straight person could be in. “YUMMY!!!” That was the first word that came to my head during the show. All three actors are not only talented, but they are also deliciously good looking. I wanted to give them all a good Gaye tongue bath. The three of them, (Joe Bombard, Sasha Andreev, and Buddy Haardt) work together so well, that it’s nearly impossible to say any one of them stood out from the others. They balanced each other perfectly. If forced to make out with/choose one of them as my favorite I would have to choose Haardt. He has an endearing earnestness about him. I couldn’t help but compare him to T.R. Knight, in both appearance, and demeanor. The one complaint I had about this show, is that I wanted more. Running at about 40 minutes, I was confused why the two pieces, (especially Dog Tag) were so short. I guess two well done short pieces is better than one really long piece of shit show. I give this show Two Legs Way up and Over My Head, and 5 Gaye golden stars.

Next up was The Spaceman Chronicles, presented by Sanguine Theatre. I originally wasn’t going to review this show after seeing it. There didn’t seem to be a point. It was just bad. I understand that this was a last-minute fill-in show. But these are seemingly smart artists. It was a good idea for a show. And most of the actors have proven to be talented in other productions (Mortem Capiendum, anyone). I expected more. Or at least something…good. Here’s my theory. A group of talented artists got together for a circle jerk. They showed the circle jerk to their friends, and instead of saying, “Gross,” their friends went down on the artists. And it needs to stop. Bad work needs to be called out, just as often as good work does. There comes a time in every artist’s life when they need the help of their friends to say, “it’s really not that good,” or, “I’d rather lick a sheep’s anus than see your show again.” I actually overhead (at Fringe Central) a conversation between a few of the actors from the show and one of their friends. She said to them, “I really liked it. I laughed my ass off.” I wanted to light her pants on fire. Don’t lie to your friends. It isn’t helpful. It only perpetuates the advancement of bad theater. If you actually saw this show and liked it, I have two things to say to you: 1.) Please tell me what it is that you liked. and 2.) You’re wrong. Sorry Spaceman Chronicles, but I will not be putting my legs in the air for you. I will give you 2 Gaye golden stars. 1 for the idea of the show (even though it fell short and was poorly/painfully executed). And 1 for the neat puppets.

And now for my last Fringe Festival review of the year. Phi Alpha Gamma, presented by Dan Bernitt. Bernitt is someone you should keep on your gaydar. His writing is so well crafted for such a seemingly young artist. He took the audience on a journey of a gay bashing and a coming out story, from the perspective of a group of fraternity brothers. While his acting is still a little green, it’s forgivable due to the quality of his writing. If anyone is attempting to write something with gay content that will in fact be dealing with “gay issues and themes,” then please refer to Bernitt’s work. His writing is edgy, well constructed, and personal, without ever being self-indulgent. While I’m not a huge fan of watching a writer read from his script on stage at the Fringe Festival, I wasn’t at all annoyed this time. I do however think this piece could have worked a little better had there been a different actor or reader for each character. It would have taken some of the pressure off of Bernitt, allowing this story to make a bigger impact. Well done Dan Bernitt’s Phi Alpha Gamma for being really Gaye, in a good way. Two Legs in the Air and 5 Gaye golden stars.

Though I didn’t get any Fringe tail this year, I did meet a lot of great artists, and made a few friends. And I certainly drank a lot of cheap beer and wine. I’m sorry if I threw up on any of you. Congratulations to all the shows that got the encore performance, and congratulations to the winners of this year’s Fringies. You are officially Fringe Famous. And you are all really, really Gaye…in a good way.